


You're the water in my lungs

by Autopxy



Category: Death Note
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, One Shot, POV Third Person, a fuckload of cliché, drowning metaphors wow so original, idek, stalemate omg unheard of, undertones of lawlight Bc im shipper trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-20 05:19:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4775138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autopxy/pseuds/Autopxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of us is going to die, Light says softly. You know that, don't you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're the water in my lungs

One of us is going to die, Light says softly. You know that, don't you.

It is 1.57 am, and the only sound that Light can hear comes from the whirring of the air conditioner. The room is as cold as the Japanese winter whereby he caught the flu, and was convinced, in his six-year old, drugged-up state, that he was drowning, that he couldn't breathe. Logic is usually overridden by primal instinct when imminent death comes into play, but the floundering panic he felt then is now replaced by a resigned acceptance.

They're in twin beds, and Light is huddled under the fleece duvet, but he can still see dark outline of L's back next to him, still feel the slight shifts of the chain on his wrist, a tell-tale sign that L is still awake. They're _tired_ , of all the dancing around topics, the lies, the vehement denials, all in a day's work; and L doesn't even bother with a _is that a confession, Light-kun?_ , and goes straight to an _I_ _know_. Because they both know and they're both so tired of knowing. And then not knowing, and then waiting.

I know, L says. And then he continues on with the charade. I just always held out hope that that one of us will be you.

But it might not be you, really, he thinks, it just as well might be me, or both of us. The clock is ticking, but L cannot, for the life of him, differentiate whose seconds are counting down. To be honest, he isn't really sure who he's actually rooting for.

Light lets out a huffy sort of breath, playfully offended. Even now, Lawliet, even now.

Even now, Kira, he agrees, even now.

They've reached a stalemate of some sort, L has the evidence and Light has the name, and the rest of the task force remains blissfully unaware that anything has changed as all. And in a way, nothing has, because L isn't dying, and Light isn't being executed, not yet, anyway. The two of them have been racing for so long, trying to find the answers, that now that they both have all they need securely in their palms, it's a _now what? What do I do now_? sort of situation, because L doesn't really know what to do with Light, and Light doesn't really know what to do with L.

So they remain, so terribly, so maddeningly still. And Light knows, that this is the reality, the physical manifestation of his childhood fever dream, because when you're out in the water, constant movement is required for survival. He and L are sinking like stones, but they're both stoic, proud, there's no gasping and clutching here. They're both so deadly still, like its quicksand, and they're just trying to outlast the other.

One of us is going to die, he thinks. Or maybe both of us are going to die.

Or maybe none of us are going to die, a small voice, hopeful, so hopeful pipes up in his head. It's so optimistic, that he isn't sure whether to even consider it, but still he _hopes_.

He takes a deep breath as both their heads go under. He hopes that L Lawliet can hold his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the most cliché Lawlight one shot in the cosmos. Would you like some cliché on top of your cliché? Enjoy your cliché !
> 
> Have I yet mentioned how cliché this fic is? I think that there's like one cliché per every 100 words, at least, you could probably win Pretentious Lawlight Fanfiction Bingo with this. I honestly don't even know what this is, I wrote it at 4 in the morning, but I'm posting it anyway because I don't have good judgement. Consider this my gift to the fandom, although this is basically the fic equivalent of those hideous bootcut jeans (that aren't even your size!) that cheap Auntie Martha gets you for Christmas. I like to think that this fic, may have some nice buttons, or good stitching, at least. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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